1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a modified cellulose regenerated fiber having the tenacity practically endurable, being excellent in dye-affinity and having also anti-funguses and deodorizing properties, and is to provide a fiber to be utilized in the field of yarns, textile fabrics, knitted woven fabrics, non-woven fabrics, paper making, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The technique of mixing chitin viscose or chitosan viscose with cellulose viscose for spinning has been investigated traditionally for the purpose of improving dye-affinity, and is described, for example, in "Kobunshikako", Kobunshi Kankokai, Vol. 14, pp. 198-205 (1965), such that chitosan is viscosylated through a sulfide process, and is then mixed with cellulose viscose at an appropriate ratio for spinning to produce chitosan/cellulose fiber, which can be stained with acidic dyes and dyes of metal complex salts. It is also described in "Kobunshi Kagaku", Kobunshi Gakkai, Vol. 30, pp. 320-326 (1973), that chitin/ cellulose fiber can be obtained by mixing and spinning of chitin viscose with cellulose viscose, and that the increase in the chitin content results in the improvement of dye-affinity.
Due to the recent demand for amenity in life space and the social factor of the increase in the number of aged people, there has developed a need for those fiber products having anti-funguses and odor-preventing properties and deodorizing and odor-destroying properties.
Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 41473/1990 proposes an anti-funguses fiber and the method for producing the same, the fiber being obtained by immersing a fiber having at least one functional group consisting of hydroxyl group, amino group and carboxyl group in an aqueous solution of chitin, chitosan and their derivatives, before drying, and cross-linking the resultant fiber in the presence of an organic solvent such as benzene and the like using a polyisocyanate compound. Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 160972/1990 discloses a technique wherein porous ceramic is dissolved in solid into the cotton fiber to provide the fiber itself with water absorbability and water releasability, and an anti-funguses agent of chitosan acetate or of cross-linked chitosan molecule is allowed to immerse into ceramic microspores, to prevent microbial deposition and growth, so as to prevent dermal disorders inducing inflammation on skin surface which generates steamy feeling and an unpleasant odor, and to prevent co-occurrence of other diseases.
Chitin or chitosan/cellulose mixed fiber obtained by preliminary viscosylate chitin or chitosan which is then mixed with cellulose viscose for spinning, in accordance with the prior art techniques, results in the mixing of essentially two different components, namely, chitin or chitosan viscose and cellulose viscose, and the solidification and regeneration thereof in a solidifying solution of the same composition, so it causes a distinct reduction in the tenacity (dry tenacity, wet tenacity and knot tenacity). Hence, no practically endurable fiber has been obtained up to now in practical meaning.
The method proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 41473/1990 is not only complex in its procedure but also triggers a decrease in the whiteness of fiber and cloth and dramatically damages the hygroscopic property or water releasibility inherent to a fiber per se, because the surface of a fiber is basically coated with chitin, chitosan and the derivatives thereof and both of the two are cross-linked with a polyisocyanate compound in order to facilitate their strong bonding with the fiber.
The technique proposed by Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 160972/1990 comprises enlarging the microholes which a fiber inherently has, by preliminarily swelling the fiber with organic solvents or aqueous solvents, subsequently immersing the fiber along with ceramic microparticles in a heated and pressurized processing solution, thereby injecting the ceramics into the microholes, and then impregnating an anti-funguses such as quaternary ammonium salt and chitosan acetate into the ceramic microholes, which is then washed in water and is left to stand in constant atmosphere to block the swelling microholes of the cotton fiber. Hence, the technique has disadvantages such as its complex procedure, the reduction in the tenacity of fiber itself and the difficulty of controlling the exact contents of effective components, due to the charge into the microholes swelled with organic solvents and the like.